1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus and methods for simultaneously producing multiple alloys of ultra-fine powder particles, and for high-throughput assaying of the alloys to identify those having desired gas storage properties.
2. Background
Materials science has shown that materials having a desired property can often be found by making a massive library of different materials from various combinations of precursor substances and assaying the resulting materials for the desired property.
One method that is suitable for making different materials is mechanical alloying, which was invented by J. S. Benjamin and is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,591,362. Mechanical alloying involves forming alloys from pure starting materials by milling a mixture of the powders in a high energy ball mill. During the milling, the starting particles undergo repeated collisions with grinding balls, causing deformation, welding and fracture of the particles which result in microstructural refinement and composition changes leading to the formation of nanocrystalline or amorphous alloys. The process can result in two or more particulate starting substances becoming so intimately mixed that the resulting particulate product is either a true alloy or a remarkably homogenous blend, or a combination of a true alloy and a homogeneous blend.
Previously known devices and methods for mechanical alloying are not suitable for forming the massive libraries of materials that are necessary for optimal screening to identify materials that have desired properties. Therefore, a need exists for a mechanical alloying apparatus and methods for the production of large libraries of different materials in a high throughput manner. The present invention fulfills this and other needs.